BBQ Spare Ribs

What kind of a summer would it be if we didn’t bar-b-que some ribs?  Ribs are easy to make if you use a little tool called the pressure cooker. It gets the meat very soft and sweet that it just falls right off the bone.  Pork can smell really bad when cooked so my remedy is to add garlic, onion and seasoning into the water in which you cook them.  Not only does it give the ribs some flavor, but it makes your house smell good. Our dogs go nuts when I boil ribs, I’m sure it’s not because of the garlic though. 🙂

Recipe:

• 2 racks of spare ribs
• 1 bulb of chopped garlic
• 1 chopped onion
• all purpose seasoning
• your favorite BBQ sauce

First cut the ribs to appropriate serving size.  I do 3 ribs at a time. It seems to be a good portion size for everyone. Then, fill your pressure cooker half way with water, add chopped garlic, chopped onions and all purpose seasoning. Add the ribs and make sure that water covers them and close the lid. Turn your stove on high. Once the whistle goes off turn your heat down to medium high and cook for another 30 min or so. Take the ribs off the stove and put the pressure cooker under cold water for a few minutes. The cold water releases the pressure inside so that you can open the lid. Take out the ribs and place them in a dish and cover it with your favorite BBQ Sauce. Place the ribs on the grill. While grilling the ribs keep brushing the BBQ sauce on the ribs to keep them nice a juicy. I guarantee you everyone is going to love these ribs.

Pizza Pretzels

I made so much pizza dough last time I was making pizza that I had some left over to make pizza pretzels. This is a super quick and easy snack. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and rolled out the dough into fun shapes. I brushed olive oil on the pretzels and baked them for about 10 min. Then you just sprinkle salt and wait for them not to be scolding hot. 🙂  You can also add sesame seeds or carraway seeds.

I personally like to eat them with creamy goat cheese.

Asian Bok Choy, Mushroom and Rice Noodle Soup

I recently went to a Chinese market to stock up on some Asian ingredients. After I came back, I wanted to cook with them so I decided on making a spicy soup. I only made enough for 2 bowls (which is what the recipe below is for) because I wasn’t really sure what I was making. My favorite Asian soups are the once where the broth itself just tastes so delicious that it doesn’t matter what else is in it. I kept putting ingredients in and after I liked the flavor, I decided the broth was done. Then I just added some vegetables, noodles and an egg to finish it off.  I served the soup for dinner and after we were done eating Mark got up and walked over to the stove to get more. He was really disappointed when he discovered that the pot was empty. He started to huff and puff that I had to make the soup again and that time I wrote the recipe down. Since then I have made the soup again tonight and decided to serve it with some spring rolls.  It’s a great soup when you are not that hungry or are feeling sick.

Recipe:

For the broth:

• 4 cups of water
• 2 tbs  soy sauce
• 1 tbs red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• all purpose seasoning
• salt
• black pepper

The rest:

• 1 egg
• 1 bok choy
• handful of shiitake mushrooms
• scallions
• clear rice noodles

Make the broth and let it come to a boil. Add the rice noodles and let it cook for about 2 min. Add the mushrooms, bok choy and scallions. Cover the pot and cook for another 2-3 min. Whisk the egg and add it slowly to the soup while stirring it. Cook until the noodles look done.  When you cook the broth make sure you taste it and add salt, seasoning, soy sauce etc. per your liking. Don’t be afraid to use different vegetables in your soup or maybe some shrimp. Enjoy!

Pan fried Pizza

One day I had some left over pizza dough, but was too lazy to make grilled pizza so I tried to pan fry it instead. I’ve seen it once on TV, but was too scared to try it myself.  I love crispy pizza so I have never tried to make it soft and chewy before. I decided to give it a shot and ended up really liking it.  Now I make extra dough and sauce for lazy dinner days where I can just take out the dough and pan fry a pizza. It’s a perfect quick dinner when you crave some comfort food.

Recipe:

• pizza dough
• pizza sauce
• oil
• your favorite pizza toppings

One dough ball will make 4 little pizzas.

First split up your dough into 4 smaller balls. Roll it out.

At the same time put a frying pan on the stove and let the oil heat up. You don’t want the heat to be too hot, because it will burn the dough. A good test is flicking some water in the pan to see how hot it is. If the water starts spraying all over the place then it means it’s too hot. If the water slowly sprays out the pan than it’s perfect.

Once the oil is hot enough place the dough in the pan. When it’s start puffing up and the bottom is getting golden brown it’s perfect to turn over. About a minute or two per side.

Take the dough out and place it on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Fry up and the rest of the dough and turn your oven on to broil.

Put some pizza sauce and your favorite toppings on the pizza and broil it until the cheese melts. Enjoy!

Lentil and Black Bean Chili

This is a super easy and tasty vegetarian chili. Healthy food shouldn’t taste bland and you shouldn’t cringe when thinking of eating it. Trust me this a great tasting meal.

Recipe:

• 1 cup of small green lentils
• 6 cups of water
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 big onion
• 29 oz can of black beans
• salt
• black pepper
• olive oil
• dried herbs
• all purpose seasoning
• 1 can of tomatoes
• hot sauce

Boil the lentils with 5 cups of water. Turn the heat down and cook until all the water has been absorbed. I like my lentils a little firmer but Mark likes them mushy, so I throw the lentils in with the chili to keep cooking. If you like them firm add them at then end to the chili.

In the meantime take another pot add some olive oil and chopped garlic. Cook the garlic for about 1-2 min. Add the onions and cook for another 2-3 min. Add the can of tomatoes and dried herbs. Cook for a few minutes until everything is soft. Add the black beans , all purpose seasoning,  salt, black pepper, cooked lentils and the remaining cup of water and your favorite hot sauce. Cover and let stew for about 20 min.  Pour it over some brown rice or just eat as is.

Pasta with Olive Oil and Feta

This dish is my favorite indulgence.  Not only does it taste delicious but it’s also super quick. I like to call it my little piece of heaven. The best dishes are sometimes the simplest ones. I just love how the sheep’s cheese melts on the pasta and when you mix it with the olive oil it becomes its own sauce. Try to use feta that is sold in it’s own brine. Not only does it taste better but it’s also creamier and softer so it melts much better. Feta is a pretty salty cheese on its own so there is no reason to use salt on your pasta.

Recipe:

• Olive Oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• crushed red pepper
• black pepper
• fresh basil
• feta

Cook your favorite pasta and top it with some olive oil, feta, finely chopped garlic, crushed red pepper, black pepper, and fresh basil.

Enjoy with some red wine!

Grilled Pizza

I’ve found that grilling a pizza gives you the best light and crispy crust that’s not too thin. You get a great smoky taste from the grill that you can’t get with the oven.

Heat the grill on high with the pizza stone in it already and then lower the heat to medium low.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and roll out the pizza dough.

Place the dough on the grill and spread the pizza sauce on top of it. I like to use Italian Salami and Italian Pepperoni on my pizza with mushrooms topped with fresh mozzarella. You can use what ever you like on your pizza.  The pizza should be done in 10 – 15 min. The crust should be nice and crisp and the middle of the pizza should not be soggy.

Sauted Mushrooms

This is a great way to saute mushrooms for pizza or a steak.  These mushrooms are so tasty that sometimes I just eat them with a piece of bread.

Recipe:

• 1 tbsp of butter
• mushrooms
• black pepper

Heat up the butter in a pan and add the mushrooms and black pepper. Put a lid on the pan and saute until the mushrooms are juicy.

Pizza Sauce

A great pizza always has a great pizza sauce. There is no reason to buy pizza sauce when you can make a much better one at home. It’s very quick and simple.

Recipe:

• 5 cloves of garlic
• fresh basil
• olive oil
• dried oregano
• 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (my favorite is Tuttorosso they have a great flavor without being too acidic)
• a pinch of all purpose seasoning
• a pinch of salt if needed

In a pan add some olive oil and finely chopped garlic. Set your stove to low to medium heat.  Cook for a little bit and add the fresh chopped basil. Cook a little longer. Make sure the garlic does not turn brown. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 5 – 10 min.

Voila! You have a delicious sauce for your pizza. 🙂

Pizza Dough

The secret to great pizza dough is the flour. I’ve experienced with many different flours to get the perfect pizza dough, but I only found two that I ever liked. Caputo pizza flour is the pricier option, which is imported from Italy. You can find it in specialty Italian stores or order it online. The other one is Five Roses flour which comes from Canada. I buy a 10 lb bag from a Greek store in the area, but I have also seen it in some grocery stores. If you can’ find it you can order it online as well. For some reason this flour just makes the dough fluffy and great to work with. I used to have the hardest time with the dough and with multiple attempts that were not satisfactory, I figured out that the secret lies in the flour.

Recipe:

• 8 cups of flour
• 1  tbsp + 1 tsp of instant yeast (make sure your yeast is fresh, if you have old yeast the dough will not rise properly)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• Pizza Seasoning (1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp dried marjoram, 1 tsp garlic salt) ; the pizza seasoning gives the dough nice flavor and aroma

Combine all the ingredients together in a mixer and mix on low until the dough is nice and smooth. If you don’t have a mixer, but have a bread maker you can use that to mix the dough as well. Put the dough in a container where it has room to rice and cover it with saran wrap.

Let the dough rise until you can see through it when pulled apart. About an hour. Split the dough into smaller balls. This recipe should make about five. Place the balls on a big cutting board and oil the tops of them and then cover with saran wrap again. Let the dough rise again. If you don’t plan to use all the dough you can put them into zip lock bags individually and keep it in the fridge. The dough should stay fresh for about a week. To reuse the dough later, just take it out the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature.  A quick way to warm up the dough is to place it into the microwave for a few seconds and then work it with your hands. Let stand for about 5-10 min before using it.